Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Is there something different about the shadow end of the range, is it >that the highlights are usually what's defining the focus of the image >so one needs to get them right, or is it just that you have to pick >one end or the other end to think about/nail down and tradition >dictates working with the highlights? It means that slide film cannot handle overexposure, and that pictures that have blown out highlights are not useable. Of course, if you like blown out highlights, you know what to do. Slide film is pretty forgiving in the shadow area as far as pulling off successful images. Underexposure doesn't leave "holes" in the picture like overblown highlights. For negative film, you can expose for shadow if you want, and develop for the highlights. That's the Zone system in a nutshell, but it really only works for black and white in any flexible way. Color negative film does respond to development changes, but not like black and white film. Actually, there are darkroom wizards who play with the development of slide film. But from what I've seen the expansion of the range of contrast the film covers comes at the expense of pretty poor looking colors in the picture. Eric Welch St. Joseph, MO http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch To iterate is human; to recurse, divine.